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PepsiCo / IBC
Discontinued: 2010
Philadelphia pharmacist Charles Elmer Hires created America's first commercial root beer after discovering a traditional herb tea recipe during his honeymoon. Hires marketed 25-cent powder packets that made five gallons of root beer each. He launched his drink at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition and called it Hires Root Beer. The brand survived 134 years through multiple corporate owners before Dr Pepper Snapple Group discontinued bottled soda production in 2010. The cola giant put all its resources on A&W Root Beer instead.
Discontinued: Unknown
Richardson’s Root Beer was a regional drink produced by Richardson Corporation in Rochester, New York, during the early 1900s. Limited historical records survive about the brand. But this root beer competed in a market saturated by new root beer brands. Sadly, the brand disappeared as the soft drink industry consolidated.
Discontinued: Unknown
Richardson’s Liberty Root Beer was originally an independent root beer brand that Richardson Corporation purchased and absorbed. It was purchased during a time when larger regional companies acquired smaller local competitors. Like its parent brand, Richardson's Liberty Root Beer vanished as mass-market soda production flooded the market with heavy competition.
Discontinued: 1930s
The Griesedieck family founded this St. Louis company during Prohibition when root beer gained popularity as a legal alcohol substitute. But Independent Breweries Company struggled financially and closed by the late 1930s. Though the original formula was discontinued, the Kranzberg family purchased the trademark and continued producing IBC Root Beer. The brand survives today under different ownership but with a slightly different formulation.
Discontinued: 2000
George Rackensperger launched Frostie Root Beer in Catonsville, Maryland, in 1939. The root beer did well for many decades and later expanded by acquiring competitors Stewart's Restaurants and Dog n Suds in the 1970s. Monarch Beverage Company bought Frostie in 1979 but promoted Dad's Root Beer instead, starving Frostie of marketing support. Later, Edge Brands acquired the dying root beer brand in 2000 but ended the original Frostie formula.
Discontinued: 1986
The Belfast Beverage Company created Mug Root Beer in San Francisco in 1940, building on their success in ginger ale. The root beer was a cult favorite for many years and maintained its original recipe until PepsiCo purchased it in 1986. Pepsi reformulated Mug as their house root beer brand and eliminated the Belfast formula.
Discontinued: 1978
Mason & Mason, Inc. of Chicago launched Mason’s Root Beer as a Midwest regional root beer in 1947. The Rheingold Corporation's Flavette division bought Mason's in 1970, and PepsiCo acquired it in 1975. Federal regulators forced PepsiCo to sell excess brands, so Monarch Beverage Company bought Mason's in 1978. Monarch immediately shelved Mason’s Root Beer to concentrate on their better-selling Dad's Root Beer.
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